บท 15: Chapter 15 - He Was Handsome

"He must come here. I won't agree to it if he is not willing to come see me." I set down the folder and folded hands together gauging their reaction.

Shocked faces was all I saw. Though I am sure my grandparents had hoped for me to say yes, I equally was sure that somewhere in the back of their mind they are surprised I did. "Honey." My dad reached over having recovered from the blow and wrapped his hands into mine. "You do not have to do this. You know your mom and I have always supported you and never once forced you to associate with someone let alone marry someone for financial benefit.

His hands squeezed mine. His brown eyes pleading for me to change my mind. "Dad." I squeezed his hands back. "I am not being forced. There is no guarantee that this man will even want to meet me. I would rather just meet him and then say no if I don't like him after."

That sentiment is what drove me to make that decision. This wasn't something set in stone, I just need to meet him and then decide what I want to do. He could have his own lover back in Milan or maybe he prefers someone else. Either way the minute I say no its over and will not be brought up again. I also, in a small corner in my heart, felt guilty. My grandparents were not people who would do something to hurt me or for their own ambition.

Knowing them, because I did not say something sooner, they wanted to do something to help me. "Lets call it a night. I will look through the information you gave me and contact him myself."

We ended up leaving it as it was and all headed our separate ways. Once in my room I changed into some sweats and a large tee shirt and sat on the plush bed to look at the file. 'Okay. Lets see who this mystery man is.' I didn't even bother to ask his name when my grandparents mentioned him but I am sure his file would have it. Based on from when I skimmed the file, the first page was just his photo along with his name on the bottom of the page.

He was handsome. He had wavy brown hair that was cropped short and slightly messy. But messy in the way that it was both intentional yet effortless. His eyes a deep brown and a roman nose. His lips neither full nor thin. He was a healthy tan. Dante de' Medici. Even his name was majestic. Though based by the fact that he wasn't smiling in the picture probably meant he was a stoic type. The next page further described his build which was tall and athletic. It had where he went to school and what role he is currently in and what languages he spoke. 'Its good that he knows English.' I thought. Though not much else was in it. Nothing about his likes or dislikes.

There was a business card attached which had his number. At dinner I said I would be the one to contact him, but now that I have decompressed and processed the information, maybe it is not the best idea. I could text him but if I were him, and got some random message, especially one from a non-Italian number I would ignore it.

'Maybe I could draft the message and when I wake up I could have Mama Ines contact her friend just to give him a heads up that I would be contacting him.' I thought about what I wanted to say. Though nothing I thought of would really be that smooth. It was going to be slightly awkward either way. I frowned, folding my arms across my chest.

After some hesitation I settled on just being straight to the point. I reread my message to make sure it had everything I wanted to say. 'Hello, my name is Celeste D'Angelo and your family gave me your information. I was asked if we could meet to potentially look into a marriage agreement. Attached below is my information, if you are interested please contact me back so we can set up a meeting time. Unfortunately due to my schedule I cannot fly out to Milan but if you could come to my country I would help make arrangements for your stay. Awaiting your response.'

'Well, thats as good as its going to get. Lets see what he says.' I set everything on my nightstand and using a small remote turned off all the lights and turned on my air purifier. The familiar whir of the machine lulled me to sleep.

The next morning I prepared my folder with my information as well as the message I drafted. Due to the heat and the fact that it was the weekend I dressed in a short flowy lavender dress. I pinned my hair out of my face and waited downstairs. As I ate my breakfast of eggs and toast my other family members joined me.

My dad looked like he slept on a rock. His eyes had dark circles forming and some noticeable eye-bags. He was wearing a white tee shirt and some khaki shorts. My mother looked more well rested but she fretted over my father as he normally sleeps deeply like a bear in hibernation. Despite having no plans today she still dressed up. She wore a long navy silk skirt with a black fitted formal tank top. Her hair curled and makeup done.

My grandparents were wearing a similar outfit to yesterday. "Morning my angel! So has he responded?" My papa Benito spoke first. After swallowing my food I shared my plan. As everyone settled in to eat I shared with my parents his file as well as my own.

"I will contact Isabella so she can inform Dante. Lets hope its all good news." My dad sighed and barely glanced at the file whereas my mom looked into Dante deeply. She whispered a bit to my dad and he merely grunted in response. He has never been so surly.

He sighed again before taking a large swig of his coffee. Then he harshly pulled the file to look at it. His head swayed indicating he had an opinion about something he read but didn't care to share.

He groaned into his hands after putting the file down.

"Ok." I turned to look at him waiting to see his response. "You are ok with meeting him? You have no qualms to doing this?" I nodded sharply. Another groan. He pulled his face from his hands and ran it through his hair. "Fine. Ok lets just take this a step at a time. Based on what I am seeing, he seems alright but, if you like him, NO talks of a marriage agreement until a good amount of time has passed. I want you to date like a regular person first."